“A Game of Thrones” by George R R Martin

I know I'm a little behind the times, but I'm finally reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and I am LOVING it. Of course I've seen the entire TV series, which means (at least so far) I already know everything that's going to happen, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable to read. While A Game of Thrones is not necessarily a book to encourage deep thought and contemplation, it is one that I've been racing through, engrossed in the story. I've definitely been sucked in, and have been reading nothing else.

And I have the feeling I will be reading nothing else for months. This first book clocked in at 807 pages (which meant just under two weeks for me), and they only get longer from here. And I must admit I feel a sense of dread when I think of books 4 and 5. Years ago, Sam tore through books 1-3, but he stalled on 4 and never even read 5. This does not bode well. Not to mention the fact that I found this first book more and more depressing as it went along. Or maybe it was just the grim weather outside today? Either way, my plan is to power through, and I think I will enjoy it more often than not. All that to say--not that I blog with great frequency these days anyway--if you don't see much action here, know that it is because I am busy in Westeros.

Here's something odd I noticed as I read AGoT. Usually, if you're already familiar with a movie or TV show and then you read the source material, reading adds depth to the experience. You're rewarded with extra tidbits that weren't made plain in the show (or that just couldn't be fit in). Weirdly, I'm not finding that with these books. As Sam pointed out, that's a testament to what a great job Benioff and Weiss did with the HBO adaptation. 

I wanted to mention the actual physical books I've been reading. I was hoping to find a nice matched set that was good-looking, not a tie-in version to the TV show. I initially hesitated over this set which is smaller than most books; I worried that the type would be too small for my old eyes, but I finally took the leap and I'm so glad I did. It's such a good-looking little set, the size is just perfect to hold in my hands (I can even read them one-handed!) and my eyes are doing just fine. So if you have the opportunity to get your hands on the Special Boxed Bantam Edition pictured below, take it! Although I must admit . . . it makes me hope that Martin never finishes books 6 and 7. (Yep, I said it.) Unless Bantam is going to print matching copies to go with my set!

“An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed” by Helen Tursten

The last one of these was more fun than this one. Somehow it didn't bother me so much to watch an old lady plan and execute cold-blooded murder just because it suited her (though I don't know why that should be). But in this second book, which includes reminiscences interleaved with what was happening in the present, suddenly Maud was given a conscience that I hadn't been previously aware of. 

The latter half of this second book is consumed by an obvious attempt at redemption, with Maud's incredibly thoughtful generosity a stark contrast to the insensitive narcissism she'd always shown before. It was hard to decide whether to see it as straightforward reformation, an incongruous impossibility, or interesting character development. But whereas her motives in the first book were of the basest human emotions (jealousy, selfishness and greed, or even just wanting to eliminate an annoyance), suddenly Maud's crimes are a result of protecting her sister or saving a young stranger from a rapist.  

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading this book. It was still quite fun and I enjoyed the mysteries and suspense. But I was surprised that Tursten found the need to take a deliciously unscrupulous character and give her a heart. 

“An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good” by Helene Tursten

I just read another cute little tiny little book. (They go so quickly!) But this one is very different from the book I blogged about yesterday, in everything but size.

I'm pretty sure I heard about this one in the most recent issue of Oh Reader. Or maybe that was actually the sequel (which I have also purchased and plan to read soon, and which is just as cute and just as tiny). 

This mini-book contains 5 brief murder mysteries that rate pretty highly on the Agatha Christie scale. In fact they remind me a lot of Christie's stories (with an f-bomb or two thrown in), and the elderly main character, Maud, reminds me quite a bit of Miss Marple, except for one key difference: instead of solving all of the mysteries, Maud is the one committing all of the murders . . .